Tech Meme

Mark Matousek / The Information: Source: IRL CEO Abraham Shafi has stepped down, following allegations the messaging startup used bots to inflate the users it reported publicly and to investors  —  Abraham Shafi has stepped down as CEO of messaging app IRL following allegations that the company used bots to inflate the users … Lees verder op Tech Meme

TechCrunch: Docs and sources: OpenAI closed a $300M+ share sale at a $27B-$29B valuation; backers include Tiger Global, Sequoia, a16z, Thrive, K2 Global, and Founders Fund  —  Updated to note that the Microsoft investment closed in January.  The money from VCs reported here, part of a tender offer, is separate to that. Lees verder op Tech Meme

TechCrunch: Docs and sources: OpenAI closed a $10.3B+ funding round from Microsoft, Tiger Global, Sequoia, a16z, Thrive, Founders Fund, and others at a $27B-$29B valuation  —  OpenAI, the startup behind the widely used conversational AI model ChatGPT, has closed its new funding round of over $10.3 billion, TechCrunch has learned. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Forbes: Filing and sources: drone delivery startup Zipline is raising a $330M Series F at a ~$4.2B valuation, up from its $2.7B valuation for its Series E in June 2021  —  The funding, revealed in a filing, shows that the logistics company priced a $330 million Series F funding round in April. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Forbes: Filing and sources: drone delivery startup Zipline is raising a $330M Series F at a ~$4.2B valuation, up 55% from its $2.7B valuation in 2021  —  The funding, revealed in a filing, shows that the logistics company priced a $330 million Series F funding round in April. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Kim Zetter / Wired: Sources: the US DOJ discovered the SolarWinds breach in late May 2020, months before its public disclosure in December 2020, but was unaware of its significance  —  In May 2020, the US Department of Justice stumbled upon Russian hackers in its network, but did not realize the significance of what it had found for six months. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Kelvin Chan / Associated Press: ChatGPT is available again in Italy after OpenAI met regulator Garante’s demands, including a form for EU users to object to having their data used for training  —  ChatGPT’s maker said Friday that the artificial intelligence chatbot is available again in Italy after the company met the demands … Lees verder op Tech Meme

Stephen Graves / Decrypt: Bluesky sees an influx of new users including @dril and AOC; some have adopted “skeeting” to mean posting on the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized social network  —  Instead of “tweeting,” the influx of new Bluesky users has coined a new term for sharing their thoughts on the decentralized social media app. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Kim Zetter / Wired: Sources: the US DOJ detected the SolarWinds breach in late May 2020, months before it was disclosed in December 2020, but was unaware of its significance  —  In May 2020, the US Department of Justice stumbled upon Russian hackers in its network, but did not realize the significance of what it had found for six months. Lees verder op Tech Meme

Ron Miller / TechCrunch: Synergy: enterprise cloud spending grew 19% YoY to $63B in Q1 2023, vs. 32% growth in Q1 2022; Amazon took 32% market share, Microsoft 23%, and Google 10%  —  As expected, companies are continuing to cut back on their cloud spend where possible, as tech budgets continue to get careful scrutiny. Lees verder op Tech Meme